Because substitute positions are so hard to fill with quality candidates, many schools and school districts look to Kelly Educational Staffing® (KES®) for their staffing solutions. KES is more than an education staffing provider; it also manages the recruiting, screening, training and retention of qualified substitute talent, allowing school administrators to focus on their core objective of educating students. Launched in 1997 as a specialty service of Kelly Services, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, KES partners with 6,175+ public and private schools across 35 states. More than two million classrooms are filled by a KES substitute teacher each year.

For schools and districts struggling with substitute staffing issues or are looking to expand and improve their applicant pool, here are some of the services KES offers their partner schools:

Leading automated absence management/scheduling systems, with 24/7/365 Web, phone and free mobile app access for requesting/scheduling staff including online timekeeping, tracking absences funded by special grants or funding sources and powerful reporting by school location

All employer-of-record responsibilities and costs, including general liability, wages, payroll deductions, state and federal taxes, unemployment and workers’ compensation

A fully compliant solution in alignment with all Department of Labor (DOL) and other federal or state employment legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Employee care including weekly pay; and a portfolio of benefits to include a service bonus, 401(k) and retention initiatives with a commitment to keep the best substitute employees working by never capping their hours and never an applicant fee

Year-round targeted recruiting by a local team with in-depth knowledge of the local market

A toll free, centralized Customer Support Team to constantly monitor and manually fill absences (especially those same day or last minute)

Partnership reviews each semester with program metrics that provide objective assessment of Kelly's performance coupled with no charge value added consultation and high-powered data analytics for insight into the district’s absenteeism trends

While the above services relieve major paperwork and tracking burdens from schools and districts, one of the more attractive aspects to KES is undoubtedly the training and screening services it offers its clients, which include:

Free, mandatory online prehire training modules for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals via an exclusive partnership with Teacher-Match® Smart Practices™, a professional development series designed to give the insights and tactics to succeed in the classroom and maximize student learning

Paid post-hire orientation on district specific and KES policies and procedures

Screenings for all employees (i.e., Criminal Background Screen, National Sex Offenders Registry), which typically go beyond school/district requirements, on top of all State screening requirements